Mazes for programmers : code your own twisty little passages / Jamis Buck ; edited by Jacquelyn Carter.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Buck, Jamis, author.

Contributor:

Carter, Jacquelyn, editor.

Series:

Pragmatic programmers.

The Pragmatic Programmers

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Computer programming.

Computer algorithms.

Maze puzzles--Data processing.

Maze puzzles.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (272 pages) : illustrations (some color).

Edition:

1st edition

Place of Publication:

Dallas, Texas ; Raleigh, North Carolina : The Pragmatic Bookshelf, 2015.

System Details:

text file

Summary:

Unlock the secrets to creating random mazes! Whether you're a game developer, an algorithm connoisseur, or simply in search of a new puzzle, you're about to level up. Learn algorithms to randomly generate mazes in a variety of shapes, sizes, and dimensions. Bend them into Moebius strips, fold them into cubes, and wrap them around spheres. Stretch them into other dimensions, squeeze them into arbitrary outlines, and tile them in a dizzying variety of ways. From twelve little algorithms, you'll discover a vast reservoir of ideas and inspiration.

Contents:

Part I. The basics : Your first random mazes : Preparing the grid ; The binary tree algorithm ; The sidewinder algorithm

Automating and displaying your mazes : Introducing our basic grid ; Displaying a maze on a terminal ; Implementing the binary tree algorithm ; Rendering a maze as an image

Finding solutions : Dijkstra's algorithm ; Implementing Dijkstra's ; Finding the shortest path ; Making challenging mazes ; Coloring your mazes

Avoiding bias with random walks : Understanding biases ; The Aldous-Broder algorithm ; Implementing Aldous-Broder ; Wilson's algorithm ; Implementing Wilson's algorithm

Adding constraints to random walks : The hunt-and-kill algorithm ; Implementing hunt-and-kill ; Counting dead ends ; The recursive backtracker algorithm ; Implementing the recursive backtracker

Part II. New steps : Fitting mazes to shapes : Introducing masking ; Implementing a mask ; ASCII masks ; Image masks

Going in circles : Understanding polar grids ; Drawing polar grids ; Adaptively subdividing the grid ; Implementing a polar grid

Exploring other grids : Implementing a hex grid ; Displaying a hex grid ; Making hexagon (sigma) mazes ; Implementing a triangle grid ; Displaying a triangle grid ; Making triangle (delta) mazes

Braiding and weaving your mazes : Braiding mazes ; Cost versus distance ; Implementing a cost-aware Dikstra's algorithm ; Introducing weaves and insets ; Generating weave mazes

Part III. More algorithms : Improving your weaving : Kruskal's algorithm ; Implementing randomized Kruskal's algorithm ; Better weaving with Kruskal ; Implementing better weaving

Growing with Prim's : Introducing Prim's algorithm ; Simplified Prim's algorithm ; True Prim's algorithm ; The growing tree algorithm

Combining, dividing : Eller's algorithm ; Implementing Eller's algorithm ; Recursive division ; Implementing recursive division

Part IV. Extending mazes into hight dimensions : Understanding dimensions ; Introducing 3D mazes ; Adding a third dimension ; Displaying a 3D maze ; Representing four dimensions

Bending and folding your mazes ; Cylinder mazes ; Möbius mazes ; Cube mazes ; Sphere mazes

Summary of maze algorithms : Aldous-Broder ; Binary tree ; Eller's ; Growing tree ; Hunt-and-kill ; Kruskal's (randomized) ; Prim's (simplified) ; Prim's (true) ; Recursive backtracker ; Recursive division ; Sidewinder ; Wilson's

Comparison of maze algorithms : Dead ends ; Longest path ; Twistiness ; Directness ; Intersections.

Notes:

"Edited by Jacquelyn Carter"--Cover.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on print version record.

ISBN:

9781680501315

1680501313

9781680503968

1680503960

9781680503975

1680503979

9781680500554

1680500554

OCLC:

919086063